Watch: What Happened to the Russian in Pine Barrens?

It is the most famous loose end in TV history: Paulie and Christopher drive a Russian named Valery into the Pine Barrens, shoot him, and he simply vanishes. Watch the video above for the full story in a minute, then read what the show, and David Chase, actually say about whether he lived.

What happened to the Russian in Pine Barrens?

Valery, a Russian enforcer connected to Slava, survives a fight, a car trunk and a shot to the head area, then disappears into the snow, taking Paulie's shoe and the car's fate with him. The episode, directed by Steve Buscemi, never shows a body, and neither does the rest of the series. Tony's warning hangs over it: if Valery survived and got back to Slava, the DiMeo family could have a war with the Russians.

Chase has addressed it over the years with deliberate mischief: the story he has told is that Valery was found by Boy Scouts, taken to a hospital and deported back to Russia, but on screen the mystery is never closed, which is exactly why fans still argue about it. Our full explainer, the fate of the Russian in Pine Barrens, weighs every theory, and our guide to where Pine Barrens was filmed covers the real snowy woods behind the episode.

The Russian, quick answers

Did the Russian die in Pine Barrens? The show never confirms it. No body is found, on screen or later.

Why didn't The Sopranos resolve it? Chase has said real life doesn't resolve everything, and the open ending became the point.

Who played the Russian? Valery was played by Vitali Baganov.

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